Martrydom of Imam Hussain [a.s]'s Ambassador Muslim bin Aqeel [a.s]
Ibn Ziyad’s contingent of three hundred men surrounded the house of Tou’ah that was in a narrow lane. Muslim [a.s] came out of the house and faced the soldiers who were forced to come two at a time because of the narrowness of the lane. Muslim [a.s] killed a major portion of the contingent. The commandant, Muhammad ibn al-Ash’ath, had to send for reinforcement several times. At this, Ibn Ziyad became angry and asked the commandant if he would need the entire army to catch a single person. The commandant, Muhammad bin al-Ash’ath, silenced ibn Ziyad with this reply:“We are not after a petty shop keeper. We are encountering a lion of the family of Hashim. If you are so brave, you may yourself come and conduct the operation.” Ibn Ziyad then ordered that either by offering safety or by any sly means Muslim should be captured.
Finding it impossible to pry out Muslim [a.s] from his advantageous position, Muhammad ibn al-Ash’ath employed an old Umayyad trick. He sent his soldiers to the rooftops of adjoining houses and asked them to throw burning torches soaked in oil. The entire lane was filled with choking smoke and burning torches. The commandant asked his soldiers to dig a trench at the entrance of the street and cover it up with sticks and grass. Unable to bear the heat and smoke, Muslim [a.s] came out fighting. He fell into the covered and concealed trench and was captured.
According to al-Mas’udi, Muhammad ibn al-Ash’ath offered a truce of safety without any duplicity. Muslim [a.s] agreed to this and surrendered himself.
However, the earlier version reported in al-Malhoof and Manaqib of Shahr Ashoob that Muslim was trapped in a ditch and captured, and the later version of al-Mas’udi that ibn al-Ash’ath promised asylum are incidents that followed one another and therefore both versions are reliable.
Muslim [a.s] told al-Ash’ath, “I am afraid you will not be able to keep up your promise or provide me any safety. Therefore, as a last wish, I ask you to convey the message to Imam al-Hussain [a.s] that the people of Kufa have betrayed us and that al-Hussain [a.s] should avoid Kufa and go to some other place.” Muhammad ibn al-Ash’ath took Muslim to Ubaidullah Ibn Ziyad’s palace and said that he had promised protection to him. Ibn Ziyad became angry and asked, “Who has authorized you to give any guarantee of protection? Your duty was to bring Muslim [a.s] here and you have nothing else to do now.”
Muslim bin Amr al-Bahli took charge of Muslim bin Aqeel [a.s]. Muslim [a.s] asked for water to quench his burning thirst, but the request was refused. Then, Imara bin Uqba according to some historians and according to some others Amr bin Hureith sent his servant to bring a mug of water. When Muslim [a.s] tried to drink the water, blood fell from his mouth filling the cup.💔 Muslim [a.s] attempted thrice, but on all three attempts, his blood filled the cup. On the last attempt, his teeth fell in the cup due to a serious injury in his mouth, inflicted by Bukeir bin Hamran al-Ahmeri.💔Muslim [a.s] threw the cup saying that it appeared that he would be killed while being thirsty.
Muslim [a.s] told Umar Bin Sa’d who was sitting with ibn Ziyad:“You are related to me, though distantly. I would like to make a last will to you personally before I am killed.” When Umar bin Sa’d declined, Ubeidullah ibn Ziyad said, “Go aside and listen to his last will. After all, he is your relative.” Muslim [a.s] and Umar bin Sa’d went to a corner on the terrace. Muslim [a.s] said, “I owe seven hundred dirhams, which I used for my food… etc. I want that you may take the responsibility of discharging it from my own funds lying in Medina. Secondly, my dead body should be given a decent burial according to Islamic rites. Lastly, but the most important is that you should arrange to send a message to Imam Hussain [a.s] asking him not to come to Kufa at any cost.” Amr ibn al-Aas informed ibn Ziyad about the last wishes of Muslim [a.s]. Ibn Ziyad said, “A trustee never betrays his trust. But sometimes mistakenly thieves are made trustees.” Then Ibn Ziyad said to Muslim [a.s], “You may deal with your money as you please. As for Husayn, we will do what we intend to do. And as for your dead body, why you bother about what is done to it.”
Ibn Ziyad then started blaspheming and cursing Muslim bin Aqeel [a.s] and Imam Hussain [a.s] with false allegations. Muslim [a.s] refuted the false allegations and reiterated that neither he nor Imam Husayn [a.s] had ever intended to divide the Ummah. Muslim [a.s] said that ibn Ziyad and his master Yazid bin Mu’awiya were the ones who were breaking the Islamic tenets and were making un-Islamic innovations. Ibn Ziyad became angry and said, “I see that you shall be killed in a manner in which none was ever killed before in the history of Islam.” To this, Muslim [a.s] replied, “You are a hard hearted tyrant and a heathen capable of all such innovations.” Ibn Ziyad then ordered, and Bukeir bin Hamran beheaded Muslim ibn Aqeel [a.s] and threw down the headless body from the turret into the cobblers’ market. Hani was beheaded by Rashid (a Turkish slave of Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad) in the market of meat vendors.
The headless bodies of Muslim ibn Aqeel [a.s] and Hani ibn Urwa [a.s] were dragged through the markets.💔 When the clan of Bani Muthhaj, to which Hani [a.s] belonged, learnt about this, the entire clan rose up in revolt, rescued the headless bodies and buried them according to the Islamic rites.
Later Muslim’s [a.s] severed head was mounted on a lance and taken along with the severed head of Hani ibn Urwa [a.s] to Damascus.💔 On seeing the heads, Yazid gloated over them and directed that the heads should be hung in the arch of the main entrance of Damascus. Yazid issued orders that people should be imprisoned on the slightest suspicion or even false allegation to be punished severely.
References: Nafasul Mahmoom, quoting al-Kamil of ibnul Atheer.
Source: The Hidden Truth about Karbala_ A.k.Ahmed B.Sc.B.L
